Biden to tell primetime audience passing the torch to Harris is ‘best way to unite our nation’
By
Naomi Lim
July 24, 2024 7:11 pm
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President Joe Biden will portray his decision to drop out of the 2024 race during his highly-anticipated primetime address to the nation as his last act in defense of democracy, according to experts.
“The defense of democracy is more important than any title,” Biden is expected to say from the White House‘s Oval Office on Wednesday, according to his prepared remarks. “I draw strength, and find joy, in working for the American people. But this sacred task of perfecting our Union is not about me. It’s about you. Your families. Your futures. It’s about ‘We the People.’”
“I have decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation,” he will say. “That is the best way to unite our nation.”
In his remarks, written in consultation with longtime aide Mike Donilon and only his fourth to be delivered from the Oval Office, he will also say: “The great thing about America is here, kings and dictators do not rule. The people do. History is in your hands. The power is in your hands. The idea of America – lies in your hands.”
Across the street, people are gathering in Lafayette Square as part of a thank you rally for Biden organized by more liberal organization MoveOn.
Biden not seeking reelection means that the end of his administration on Jan. 20 will end his time in Washington, D.C., to which he first started commuting in 1973 after he became one of the youngest senators in history, then a newly widowed father-of-two. His first wife Neilia and their one-year-old daughter Naomi died in a holiday car crash months earlier.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/presidential/3097208/joe-biden-speech-2024-election-kamala-harris/